How to Make a Palm Tree Costume

Video Transcript

"In this clip we're going to make a palm tree costume that you could wear at a fancy dress party. For this clip you'll need some green crate paper, a stapler, scissors, a length of bendy stick, some sticky tape, some balloons, a strip of card and if you've got it, some pretty flowers on a garland and a t-shirt. So we'll start off with a strip of wallpaper or card, something that's fairly strong and measure it to go around your head, wrap it over and when you've mounted the position, take it off carefully and staple it in a couple of places so that's the base of your headdress. Now I've found this nice bendy stick that's not heavy, you might be able to find something like it in the garden or from the garden shop and that's going to be the base of our palm tree leaves. The leaves are going to be made from crate paper. Use it with the grain going the long way down. It's going down, down, down there. So fold it in half along the grain and take your scissors and do your chopping stops along. Chop and stop before you reach the fold. The folds at that end, this is the open end. So chop and stop before you reach the folds. This will look like the froms of the palm tree waving in the wind. But do remember to stop before you reach your fingers, stop before you reach the fold. That's lots of froms on the palm tree. Now then, open it out and put your stick down the middle of it. You made need another pair of hands to help you with this one, so perhaps you've got a friend who could make another palm tree costume. Wrap the palm tree leaves around the stick and staple them into place all the way down the leaf. You want to leave them sticking out a bit because palm trees are wonderful, they grow in hot countries and they keep you shaded from the sun if you can sit underneath a palm tree, it's better than having a parasail. All the way down your leaf wrap them around and staple them into position. You'll need four or five like this to make your palm tree look nice and shady. When you get to the end if you find this too much stick, you may be able to cut it if it's thin or you may need somebody to chop it for you. Now each leaf is going to staple onto the headdress all the way around. So a couple of staples and if it can through the stick a couple of times, that should hold it. That's one, here's another one. Arrange them so they come out over the top. We don't want them going back over your head, we want them hanging down around the edge. Here's another one. That would look rather wonderful and shady. It'll make me feel like climbing up you to get a coconut from the top. So we're going to need some coconuts, aren't we? That's the next job. There's all the leaves on the palm tree. So we haven't got any real coconuts today and of course they are rather heavy so what we're going to do is blow up some balloons. Don't blow them up full size, just a half blowup. A couple of blows and tie a knot, that should be enough. Now the balloons need to go around underneath the leaves and for that you can just use some lengths of sticky tape. I've got some ready here. And it'll just go over the knot and stick on. Two at this side and two at the other side I think would be enough to make you look like a nice healthy palm tree with plenty of coconuts for the monkeys to climb up for. There's a coconut on that side, a coconut here. Stick them on firmly. You might like to tie them with wool before you stick them, it might be easier to stick the wool then the actual balloon. And then try it on and see if they hang down and look wonderful. There we are, cool as a cucumber into the palm tree with coconuts at this side, coconuts at this side and if you happen to have one of these flower garlands, that can go around your neck to make you look extra exotic in Hawaii and anything else you've got if you can wear plain brown t-shirt and some darkly trousers, that would be ideal. And you look fit to go stand on the beach and everybody will come and sit in your shade. And that's how to make a palm tree costume for a fancy dress party."